2023 Valencian GP (MotoGP) – Preview

Fabio Di Giannantonio manage to achieve his dream of winning a premier class race last weekend at the Lusail International Circuit, winning the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix as he continues to search for a seat in MotoGP in 2024, but as far as the battle for the world championship is concerned, Francesco Bagnaia has taken one giant step towards becoming Ducati’s first two-time MotoGP World Champion, and the first Ducati rider to win back-to-back MotoGP World Championships by finishing second in the grand prix after finishing fifth in the sprint, while Jorge Martín after winning the sprint, finished a disastrous 10th in the grand prix after struggling with his tyres again in a result that could well cost him any chance of winning his first world championship as the grid heads to the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, about a 20 to 30 minute drive west of Valencia, for the title decider, the 2023 Valencian Grand Prix, the 20th and final round of the 2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

And, the title decider heads to the final round in consecutive years for the first time in the MotoGP era and for the first time in the premier class since going to the final round for four-straight years from 1978 to 1981 with Bagnaia (437 points) for the Ducati Lenovo Team having a 21-point lead over Martín (416 points) from Prima Pramac Racing heading into the final round in Valencia!

So, Bagnaia can become Ducati’s first two-time MotoGP World Champion, and in the process become the fourth Italian in history to win multiple premier class world championships, joining Umberto Masetti (1950, 1952), Giacomo Agostini (1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1975), and Valentino Rossi (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009), in the sprint this weekend at the 2023 Valencian Grand Prix if:

1. Bagnaia wins the sprint, and Martín finishes third or lower.

2. Bagnaia finishes second, and Martín finishes fifth or lower.

3. Bagnaia finishes third, and Martín finishes seventh or lower.

4. Bagnaia finishes fourth, and Martín finishes eighth or lower.

5. Bagnaia finishes fifth, and Martín finishes ninth or lower.

6. Bagnaia finishes sixth, and Martín finishes 10th or lower.

Alternatively, Bagnaia can become Ducati’s first two-time MotoGP World Champion, and in the process become the fourth Italian in history to win multiple premier class world championships, joining Umberto Masetti (1950, 1952), Giacomo Agostini (1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1975), and Valentino Rossi (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009), this weekend at the 2023 Valencian Grand Prix if Martín doesn’t outscore Bagnaia by 22 points or more!

However, Martín can become the fifth Spaniard in history to win the premier class world championship, joining Àlex Crivillé (1999), Jorge Lorenzo (2010, 2012, 2015), Marc Márquez (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), and Joan Mir (2020), and in the process, become the first independent team rider since Valentino Rossi back in 2001 to win the premier class world championship this weekend at the 2023 Valencian Grand Prix if he outscores Bagnaia by 22 points or more!

Behind the Top Two in the championship, Marco Bezzecchi (326 points) will third in the world championship in just his second year in the premier class for the Mooney VR46 Racing Team despite finishing a very disappointing 13th in both the sprint and the grand prix in Qatar, while Brad Binder (268 points) is locked into fourth in the final world championship standings for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing after finishing seventh in the sprint and fifth in the grand prix at the Lusail International Circuit!

Meanwhile, it is a four-way battle for fifth in the final standings between Johann Zarco (204 points) for Prima Pramac Racing, who will be joining the LCR Team in 2024, Aleix Espargaró (198 points) for Aprilia Racing, Luca Marini (194 points) for Mooney VR46 Racing Team, who is potentially off to the Repsol Honda Team in 2024, but nothing has been confirmed yet, and Maverick Viñales (192 points) for Aprilia Racing after Zarco finished 10th in the sprint and 12th in the grand prix, Espargaró retired from both the sprint and the grand prix, Marini finished third in both the sprint and the grand prix, and Viñales finished sixth in the sprint and fourth in the grand prix in Qatar!

And, both Fabio Quartararo (167 points) for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP and Álex Márquez (165 points) for Gresini Racing MotoGP complete the Top 10 in the championship going into Valencia after the former finished eighth in the sprint and seventh in the grand prix, while the latter finished fourth in the sprint and sixth in the grand prix in Lusail!

Beyond the Top 10 in the standings, a number of riders will be finishing up with their current teams this weekend and moving to pastures new, including Marc Márquez, who will be leaving Honda and the Repsol Honda Team to join Gresini Racing MotoGP in 2024 after spending the first 11 years of his premier class career with Honda and the Repsol Honda Team, the first seven years mostly glorious years with six world championships!

Franco Morbidelli will also depart his current team in Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP to join Prima Pramac Racing in 2024, with Álex Rins departing LCR Honda Castrol to replace Morbidelli at Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP next year, while Pol Espargaró will depart GasGas Factory Racing Tech3 (and most likely the premier class) after this weekend, and will be replaced by newly-crowned Moto2 World Champion and 2021 Moto3 World Champion Pedro Acosta, who is set to be the most exciting and anticipated rookie rider in the premier class since Marc Márquez back in 2013!

Meanwhile, we have no idea at the time of publication as to the future of Fabio Di Giannantonio, and who will replace and fill the seemingly irreplaceable shoes of Marc Márquez at the Repsol Honda Team in 2024, and whoever fills those shoes will have Mount Everest (and perhaps more) to climb in order to get Honda back to the front of the grid at any point in the near future!

So, who is going to win the 2023 Valencian Grand Prix, and who is going to win the 2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship?

I will answer the second part of this question first, and I think Francesco Bagnaia will become a two-time MotoGP World Champion, and the 17th rider to win two or more premier class world championships, but I think Jorge Martín will finish off his amazing year on a high by winning the 2023 Valencian Grand Prix!

2023 British GP (MotoGP) – Preview

Reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia continued to assert his superiority over 2023 before the mid-season break by winning the Dutch TT for the second-straight year, his fourth grand prix race victory for the year and the 15th premier class race victory of his career, after finishing a close second behind Marco Bezzecchi in the sprint at the TT Circuit Assen!

And, with Ducati occupying five of the Top Six spots in the championship standings, Can anyone halt the dominance of the Bologna Bullets? And, have the men from Japan (Honda and Yamaha) delivered some upgrades and improved their bikes in-order to be competitive and give themselves hope for 2024 and beyond?

Those are a couple of the questions that are being asked with 12 rounds remaining as the grid returns from the mid-season break at the home of British motorsport, Silverstone in Northamptonshire in England, for the 2023 British Grand Prix, Round Nine of the 2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

And, the Top Three positions in the standings are occupied by Ducati riders, with Bagnaia (194 points) leading the championship by 35 points for the Ducati Lenovo Team over Prima Pramac Racing rider Jorge Martín (159 points), with Mooney VR46 Racing Team rider Bezzecchi (158 points) a further point behind in third after winning the 2023 Dutch TT a day after finishing second in the sprint in Assen, while Martín wasn’t quite on the level of Bagnaia and Bezzecchi at the Dutch TT, finishing sixth in the sprint before finishing fifth in the grand prix as the third-best Ducati rider in Assen, doing just enough to maintain second in the world championship after Bezzecchi won the sprint ahead of Bagnaia in Assen, before finishing second just behind his fellow Italian in the grand prix, and you still feel like both Martín and Bezzecchi are still in the hunt for the 2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship, but it is going to be hard to stop Bagnaia after consolidating his speed into results in the longer grand prix races after crashing in the grand prix races in Argentina, the Circuit of the Americas (Grand Prix of the Americas), and in France, and on the five occasions (out of eight) Bagnaia has finished the longer grand prix races, he has finished either first or second, winning on four occasions, and the consistency of both Martín and Bezzecchi is not at the same level in comparison with the 2022 MotoGP World Champion, something which will have to change if they want to challenge Bagnaia in the second part of 2023!

Brad Binder (114 points) is the only rider inside the Top Six in the world championship currently not riding a Ducati, currently fourth in the standings for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, and is ahead of both Johann Zarco (109 points) from Prima Pramac Racing and Luca Marini (98 points) from Mooney VR46 Racing Team after finishing fifth in the sprint and fourth in the grand prix, jumping ahead of Zarco in the championship after the Frenchman finished 13th in the sprint before being taken out by fellow countryman Fabio Quartararo in the grand prix, while Marini finished seventh in the grand prix after finishing 10th in the sprint!

Jack Miller (79 points) remains in seventh in the championship for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, ahead of Aleix Espargaró (77 points) from Aprilia Racing despite scoring no points in Assen, finishing 11th in the sprint before crashing out at Turn One at the start of Lap Two in the grand prix, while Espargaró produced his best weekend of the year at the Dutch TT, finishing fourth in the sprint before grabbing his first podium finish of 2023, finishing third in the grand prix!

Quartararo (64 points) is the only rider from a Japanese manufacturer inside the Top 10 in the standings for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, remaining inside the Top 10 despite crashing out of the Dutch TT after an impressive performance to finish in third in the sprint the day before, and Yamaha will need to improve their bike in order to be competitive and challenge Ducati for the world championship in 2024 and beyond, while Álex Márquez (63 points) completes the Top 10 in the championship for Gresini Racing MotoGP after finishing ninth in the sprint and sixth in the grand prix in Assen!

And, just like Yamaha, Honda need to deliver huge upgrades to their motorcycle if they want to turn their fortunes around as they have no riders inside the Top 10 in the standings with Álex Rins (47 points) in 13th, who not only won’t be riding this weekend at Silverstone due to the broken leg suffered at Mugello back in June, he will be joining Yamaha in 2024 to be the teammate of 2021 MotoGP World Champion Quartararo, Takaaki Nakagami (34 points) doing his best in 16th, six-time premier class world champion Marc Márquez (15 points) not getting a clear run in 19th, and what we saw at the Sachsenring back in June shocking everyone, and 2020 MotoGP World Champion Joan Mir (five points) in 26th in the standings with no luck at all, but will return from a right hand injury this weekend, which was suffered at Mugello back in June!

Before we get to my predictions for this weekend, here is my championship points comparison, with and without sprint races!

2023 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (INCLUDING THE SPRINTS)

1. Francesco Bagnaia (194 points)

2. Jorge Martín (159 points)

3. Marco Bezzecchi (158 points)

4. Brad Binder (114 points)

5. Johann Zarco (109 points)

6. Luca Marini (98 points)

7. Jack Miller (79 points)

8. Aleix Espargaró (77 points)

9. Fabio Quartararo (64 points)

10. Álex Márquez (63 points)

2023 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (NOT INCLUDING THE SPRINTS)

1. Francesco Bagnaia (120 points)

2. Marco Bezzecchi (117 points)

3. Jorge Martín (100 points)

4. Johann Zarco (90 points)

5. Luca Marini (71 points)

6. Brad Binder (67 points)

7. Fabio Quartararo (56 points)

8. Aleix Espargaró (56 points)

9. Álex Márquez (54 points)

10. Jack Miller (54 points)

So, who is going to win the 2023 British Grand Prix?

I can only see Red in more ways than one at Silverstone!

Red for both Yamaha and especially Honda, who will continue to struggle and will continue to showcase how far The Land of the Rising Sun has fallen, and Red for the rest of the grid, who will continue to see the Bologna Bullets dominate over MotoGP, and I tip Francesco Bagnaia to win the British Grand Prix, ahead of Jorge Martín in second, and Marco Bezzecchi in third!

2023 Italian GP (MotoGP) – Preview

It took a little while for him to get going, and after narrowly avoiding the collision involving his teammate Luca Marini and Álex Márquez on Lap Six, Marco Bezzecchi rose to the lead of the race and pulled away from Marc Márquez to win the 1000th world championship motorcycle grand prix, the 2023 French Grand Prix, the second race victory for the year and in his career, as both Francesco Bagnaia and Maverick Viñales came together, while Márquez crashed out on the penultimate lap as he attempted to keep Jorge Martín, who won the sprint at Le Mans, and Johann Zarco behind him!

And, after a few weeks off, the grid heads to the famed and iconic Mugello Circuit (Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello), which is about an hour drive north-northeast of the city of Florence in the region of Tuscany, as the sport continues to be as unpredictable as ever ahead of the 2023 Italian Grand Prix, Round Six of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship!

And despite crashing out of the grand prix and finishing third in the sprint at Le Mans, Bagnaia (94 points) still leads the championship for Ducati Lenovo Team, but only by a single point over Bezzecchi (93 points) from the Mooney VR46 Racing Team, who finished seventh in the sprint on Saturday before claiming victory in the grand prix on Sunday in a wonderful ride, while both Brad Binder (81 points) for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Martín (80 points) for Prima Pramac Racing continued their strong starts to 2023, with the former finishing second in the sprint and sixth in the race, while the latter finished second in the French Grand Prix following the late race crash for Marc Márquez after winning the sprint on the Saturday!

Johann Zarco (66 points) is fifth in the standings for Prima Pramac Racing after finishing sixth in the sprint and third in the race at his home grand prix, while Marini (54 points) remains sixth in the world championship for Mooney VR46 Racing Team despite the incident with Álex Márquez after finishing the sprint at the French Grand Prix in fourth!

Meanwhile, behind the Top Six in the championship, there are only two points separating seventh to 10th in the standings after the opening five rounds of 2023, with Viñales (49 points) in seventh for Aprilia Racing after finishing ninth in the sprint before the collision with Bagnaia in the grand prix, Fabio Quartararo (49 points) in eighth for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP after crashing out of the sprint once again, but is the only rider inside the Top 10 in the world championship to finish the full-length races inside the points-scoring positions (Top 15), finishing all five full-length races in 2023 inside the Top 10 after finishing seventh at his home grand prix, and it feels criminal that he is only eighth in the standings given this fact, but it only highlights the lack of outright speed Yamaha has right now, and the uphill battle they face to remain competitive in the 2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

And, completing the Top 10 in the standings, Jack Miller (49 points) is ninth for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing after crashing out of both the sprint and the grand prix at Le Mans on a weekend that promised so much, yet delivered so little, while Álex Rins (47 points) is 10th for LCR Honda Castrol after finishing 11th in the sprint, before crashing out of the grand prix on Lap 15!

And, I have also got to talk about Marc Márquez (12 points) for the Repsol Honda Team, who on his return from the thumb injury suffered in the opening round in Portugal, produced his best performance, at least speed-wise, since the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix, finishing fifth in the sprint, before crashing out of second-place attempting to keep Jorge Martín and Johann Zarco on a bike that is probably still far from the best on the grid!

If Márquez can finish in the full-length races, and show strong form in the sprints, I expect within two to three rounds for the six-time premier class world champion to be inside the Top 10 in the championship standings!

And, talking about the championship standings, here are the comparisons between the championship standings under the 2023 race weekend format and the championship standings under the race format from previous years for your pleasure!

2023 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (INCLUDING THE SPRINTS)

1. Francesco Bagnaia (94 points)

2. Marco Bezzecchi (93 points)

3. Brad Binder (81 points)

4. Jorge Martín (80 points)

5. Johann Zarco (66 points)

6. Luca Marini (54 points)

7. Maverick Viñales (49 points)

8. Fabio Quartararo (49 points)

9. Jack Miller (49 points)

10. Álex Rins (47 points)

2023 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (NOT INCLUDING THE SPRINTS)

1. Marco Bezzecchi (76 points)

2. Johann Zarco (58 points)

3. Francesco Bagnaia (50 points)

4. Fabio Quartararo (48 points)

5. Jorge Martín (44 points)

6. Brad Binder (43 points)

7. Álex Rins (38 points)

8. Luca Marini (38 points)

9. Maverick Viñales (37 points)

10. Álex Márquez (35 points)

11. Jack Miller (35 points)

So, who is going to win the 2023 Italian Grand Prix?

On paper, despite the current unpredictability of MotoGP, Mugello is tailor-made for Ducati dominance and success, given their all-round prowess, so with that being said, I am going tip Marc Márquez on his Honda to shock everyone and win the Italian Grand Prix for the second time in the premier class to confirm to the world that he is back at his very best, and signal to everyone that he could still yet challenge for the 2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship, however tall an ask that may be!

2023 French GP (MotoGP) – Preview

Francesco Bagnaia bounced back after crashing out of the Grand Prix of the Americas to win the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix, his second race victory of the year, which came after finishing second in the sprint at the Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto, and both after dramatic starts to the sprint and the grand prix, with both being red-flagged after incidents on the opening lap involving Álex Márquez, Augusto Fernández, Marco Bezzecchi, and Franco Morbidelli in the sprint, and Fabio Quartararo and the luckless Miguel Oliveira in the grand prix, and in the process, reclaimed the lead in the world championship!

Meanwhile, KTM showed to everyone in Jerez that they are serious championship contenders in 2023, with Brad Binder winning the sprint in Spain, his second sprint victory of 2023, and finishing second behind Bagnaia in the grand prix to rise up into third in the standings, while Australian Jack Miller also shined in the south of Spain to finish third in both the sprint and the grand prix to climb up into fourth in the standings as test rider Dani Pedrosa wind back the clock to finish sixth and seventh in the sprint and grand prix in Spain respectively in one of the best performances by a test rider on a grand prix weekend in recent memory, if not ever!

And, the grid heads from southern Spain to the north-western part of France to the historic city of Le Mans, and to the Bugatti Circuit (which runs on part of the iconic Circuit de la Sarthe that is synonymous for hosting the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race) for the 1,000th world championship motorcycle grand prix, and to celebrate a sport made popular by the likes of Giacomo Agostini, Valentino Rossi, Marc Márquez, and Mick Doohan just to name four, and reflect on the some of the great battles we have seen over the years, looking back to the epic battles (especially in recent history) between Rossi and Casey Stoner at the United States Grand Prix at Laguna Seca back in 2008, Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo at the Catalan Grand Prix in Barcelona back in 2009, the tussles between Márquez and Andrea Dovizioso during the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons, as well as dominance from the likes of Rossi at Mugello, Stoner at Phillip Island, and Márquez at both the Sachsenring and the Circuit of the Americas, and the greatest races in history, with the 2022 Australian Grand Prix sitting at the very top of my list as the greatest motorcycle race of all-time, as well as look ahead to the future, and enjoy the new generation of stars at the 2023 French Grand Prix, Round Five of the 2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

Bagnaia (87 points) leads the championship for the Ducati Lenovo Team by 22 points over Mooney VR46 Racing Team rider Marco Bezzecchi (65 points) after the latter surrendered his championship lead following a shocking weekend in Spain, only finishing ninth in the sprint before crashing out of the grand prix on Lap 17, but remains ahead of both Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders in Brad Binder (62 points) and Jack Miller (49 points), who were both brilliant at Jerez, while there is a three-way tie for fifth between Maverick Viñales (48 points) from Aprilia Racing, who finished seventh in the sprint before suffering a snapped chain on the final lap of the grand prix in Spain, Luca Marini (48 points) from the Mooney VR46 Racing Team, who finished 10th in the sprint before finishing sixth in the grand prix at the Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto, and Jorge Martín (48 points) from Prima Pramac Racing, who finished fourth in both the sprint and grand prix last time out!

Álex Rins (47 points) has slipped to eighth in the world championship for LCR Honda Castrol after failing to reproduce the heroics of Austin, finishing 13th in the sprint before crashing on the opening lap and then retiring from the Spanish Grand Prix after completing two laps, while Johann Zarco (46 points) from Prima Pramac Racing and Álex Márquez (41 points) from Gresini Racing MotoGP complete the Top 10 in the standings after the former struggled in Spain, finishing eighth in the sprint before crashing out of the grand prix on Lap 17, while the latter crashed out of the sprint on Lap 4 before finishing eighth in the grand prix!

And, Marc Márquez will make his return this weekend at the French Grand Prix after recovering from his thumb injury, which was suffered in the 2023 Portuguese Grand Prix in the incident with Miguel Oliveira, for which Márquez was initially issued with a Double Long Lap Penalty as a result!

However, the six-time premier class world champion will not have to serve the penalty after winning his case at the MotoGP Court of Appeal due to the wording of the penalty stating that he had to serve the penalty in Argentina and not at the next race that he competed in, and since Márquez did not compete in Argentina, the penalty was deemed to have been served!

And, once again for your pleasure, here are the comparisons between the championship standings under the 2023 race weekend format and the championship standings under the race format from previous years, which you may use to diversify your experience of the sport, or use in your pre-race or magazine shows (if your country has a pre-race or magazine show) in your discussions to your viewers about the new format and the old format, and about which format may be better in the opinion of your experts and hosts!

2023 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (INCLUDING THE SPRINTS)

1. Francesco Bagnaia (87 points)

2. Marco Bezzecchi (65 points)

3. Brad Binder (62 points)

4. Jack Miller (49 points)

5. Maverick Viñales (48 points)

6. Luca Marini (48 points)

7. Jorge Martín (48 points)

8. Álex Rins (47 points)

9. Johann Zarco (46 points)

10. Álex Márquez (41 points)

2023 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (NOT INCLUDING THE SPRINTS)

1. Marco Bezzecchi (51 points)

2. Francesco Bagnaia (50 points)

3. Johann Zarco (42 points)

4. Fabio Quartararo (39 points)

5. Álex Rins (38 points)

6. Luca Marini (38 points)

7. Maverick Viñales (37 points)

8. Álex Márquez (35 points)

9. Jack Miller (35 points)

10. Brad Binder (33 points)

So, who is going to win the 2023 French Grand Prix, the 1,000th world championship motorcycle grand prix?

Looking at the state of play after the opening four races of 2023, Ducati have the best bike and appear to be the best bet to win the 2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship, followed by Aprilia and KTM (in no particular order), while both Honda and Yamaha are lacking, and don’t appear to be in the fight right now!

And, I think this trend will continue (to a certain extent) this weekend, but I think the rise of KTM will be even stronger this weekend, and I am going to tip Jack Miller to emulate the success he had at Le Mans back in 2021, and win the French Grand Prix in the premier class for the second time, and for the third time across all classes after winning in Moto3 back in 2014!

2023 Spanish GP (MotoGP) – Preview

While Honda had no Marc Márquez at the Circuit of the Americas (and they won’t have him this weekend at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto), they still managed to find their way back to the top step of the podium for the first time since the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with Álex Rins winning the Grand Prix of the Americas for the second time, his sixth premier class race victory, and becoming the first Honda rider not named Marc Márquez to win a grand prix since Cal Crutchlow won the 2018 Argentine Republic Grand Prix, while Marco Bezzecchi maintains his championship lead as reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia crashed out of the race lead in the grand prix, blowing his opportunity to reclaim the lead of the world championship!

However, as the grid heads back to Europe, and to the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto in Jerez de la Frontera, who will stamp their mark and make a real title statement at the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix, Round Four of the 2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

And, for a bit of a different start, I want to compare the championship standings under the 2023 race weekend format and the championship standings under the race format from previous years, as you will be able to see below:

2023 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (INCLUDING THE SPRINTS)

1. Marco Bezzecchi (64 points)

2. Francesco Bagnaia (53 points)

3. Álex Rins (47 points)

4. Maverick Viñales (45 points)

5. Johann Zarco (44 points)

6. Luca Marini (38 points)

7. Fabio Quartararo (34 points)

8. Álex Márquez (33 points)

9. Brad Binder (30 points)

10. Franco Morbidelli (29 points)

11. Jorge Martín (29 points)

2023 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (NOT INCLUDING THE SPRINTS)

1. Marco Bezzecchi (51 points)

2. Johann Zarco (42 points)

3. Álex Rins (38 points)

4. Maverick Viñales (37 points)

5. Fabio Quartararo (33 points)

6. Luca Marini (28 points)

7. Álex Márquez (27 points)

8. Francesco Bagnaia (25 points)

9. Franco Morbidelli (23 points)

10. Jack Miller (19 points)

As you can see, regardless of whether it is the new format or the old format, Mooney VR46 Racing Team rider Marco Bezzecchi is the well-deserved championship leader after the opening three rounds of the season after finishing sixth in both the sprint and the grand prix at the Circuit of the Americas, but you will notice straight away the big difference between the championship standings between the new format and the old format is that Ducati Lenovo Team rider and reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia, who is second in the world championship, 11 points behind Bezzecchi, under the new format, would be all the way down in eighth in the world championship, 26 points behind Bezzecchi, if the sport had remained under the old format, so the new sprint races, of which Bagnaia has won two out of the three so far in 2023, and finished sixth in the other sprint in Argentina, are actually saving Bagnaia’s title defence so far and increasing his chances of winning back-to-back world championships!

Álex Rins for LCR Honda Castrol and Maverick Viñales for Aprilia Racing are third and fourth in the standings respectively under both the new format and the old format, but Johann Zarco, who is currently fifth in the championship for Prima Pramac Racing under the new format, 20 points behind Bezzecchi, would be second in the championship if the sport had remained under the old format, nine points behind Bezzecchi!

Luca Marini for the Mooney VR46 Racing Team would also remain in sixth in the world championship even if the sport had remained under the old format of having no sprint races, but 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo, who is currently seventh in the standings for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP under the new format, 30 points behind Bezzecchi, would be elevated to fifth in the championship under the old format, 18 points behind Bezzecchi, with the new format highlighting and exacerbating the qualifying woes of Yamaha and their inability to get through that great red wall in a short space of time, with Quartararo only scoring points, one point to be precise, in one of the sprint races this year back in Argentina, but has scored points in each of the three grand prix races so far in 2023, including finishing third last time out in Austin, but the important thing for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP is that Franco Morbidelli is performing at a stronger level compared to 2021 and 2022, and perhaps closer to the level that he was performing at back in 2020, where he finished second in the world championship behind Joan Mir, and under both the new format (10th) and the old format (9th), Morbidelli is inside the Top 10 in the standings!

Gresini Racing MotoGP rider Álex Márquez also remains inside the Top 10 in the championship standings under both the new format (8th) and the old format (7th), but both Brad Binder for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Jorge Martín for Prima Pramac Racing would drop out of the Top 10 (or on the same amount of points as 10th in the case of Martín) if the sport had remained under the old format with Binder’s teammate in Jack Miller jumping up into the Top 10 and into 10th had the sport not implemented sprint races from 2023 and onwards!

It is going to be interesting to see how both of these comparisons trend throughout 2023, and whether they will trend in a different way from each other, or whether they will converge towards each other, one way or another!

However, regardless of this, it is going to be a tall order for both Enea Bastianini, who returns this weekend from a shoulder injury for Ducati Lenovo Team, and Marc Márquez, who remains out due to a thumb injury for the Repsol Honda Team, to comeback and win the 2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

So, who is going to win the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix?

It is a difficult one to predict, especially given the comparison I explained to you above, but I am going to pick Marco Bezzecchi to shine in southern Spain in both the sprint and the grand prix to stamp and solidify his championship credentials!

2023 Americas GP (MotoGP) – Preview

Brad Binder produced one of the greatest opening laps in MotoGP history, coming from 15th on the grid to be third by the end of the opening lap, before moving up to second by the end of the second lap, and then taking the lead on the third lap on his way to winning the second-ever MotoGP sprint at the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo in Termas de Río Hondo, while Marco Bezzecchi created history, not only claiming his first-ever MotoGP race victory, but also giving seven-time premier class world champion and nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi his first-ever MotoGP race victory as a team owner, by winning the 2023 Argentine Republic Grand Prix in wet and tricky conditions as reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia made his first real mistake in the defence of his crown to surrender the championship lead after the opening two rounds of the season!

However, as the grid heads to the United States, and to Austin, Texas after the big news that both six-time premier class world champion and eight-time world champion Marc Márquez (hand/thumb) for the Repsol Honda Team, and the teammate of Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini (shoulder), the last two MotoGP race winners at the Circuit of the Americas, will both remain sidelined due to their respective injuries, coupled with the fact that the only other race winner at the Circuit of the Americas in MotoGP, Álex Rins (13 points), is currently in 12th in the standings for LCR Honda Castrol after finishing ninth in the race in Argentina, who is going to take the mantle in the Lone Star State and become the King of the Circuit of the Americas at the 2023 Grand Prix of the Americas, Round Three of the 2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

Bezzecchi (50 points) leads the championship for the first time in his career for the Mooney VR46 Racing Team after his historic win onboard his Ducati after also finishing second in the sprint, holding a nine-point advantage over Bagnaia (41 points) after the 2022 MotoGP World Champion finished sixth in the sprint, but crashed in the race on Lap 17 at the penultimate corner (Turn 13), managing to remount, but could only finish 16th and outside of the points for the Ducati Lenovo Team!

Johann Zarco (35 points) is third in the standings after the opening two rounds of 2023 for Prima Pramac Racing after finishing second in the race at the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo, and is two points ahead of Gresini Racing MotoGP rider Álex Márquez (33 points), who although finished second twice back in 2020, probably had the best weekend of his MotoGP career so far, claiming his first-ever MotoGP pole position, before finishing fifth in the sprint and third in the race in Termas de Río Hondo, jumping up ahead of Maverick Viñales (32 points) on a weekend where Aprilia Racing struggled, with Viñales finishing seventh in the sprint and 12th in the race, while his teammate Aleix Espargaró (12 points), who is currently 13th in the standings, crashed out of the sprint and could only finish 15th in the race on what was a dreadful weekend for them!

Behind the Top Five in the world championship, Jack Miller (25 points) is sixth for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing after finishing a somewhat disappointing sixth in his eyes in the Argentine Republic Grand Prix, and is three points ahead of both Jorge Martín (22 points) and Binder (22 points), with the Prima Pramac Racing rider in Martín finishing eighth in the sprint and fifth in the race, while the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider crashed on the opening lap of the grand prix on-route to finishing 17th after his remarkable performance in the sprint, while the important thing to note is that both Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP riders are inside the Top 10 in the championship standings, with Franco Morbidelli (21 points) ahead of Fabio Quartararo (18 points) after Morbidelli found a renewed sense of confidence in himself and his machinery, finishing fourth in both the sprint and the race in Argentina, while the 2021 MotoGP World Champion finished ninth in the sprint and seventh in the race in what was another difficult weekend for the Frenchman!

An update on the Fox Sports Australia MotoGP coverage situation, I haven’t been able as of yet to get in-touch with Isabella Leembruggen, who hosted Fox Sports Australia’s MotoGP coverage last year, despite being told by one of my contacts (not their fault), that she would get in-touch with me, but I will still be endeavouring to get in-touch with her in regards to what has happened!

However, another one of my contacts explained to me via email that there have been some cost-cutting measures at the media organisation, and the word on media street is that this is the likely reason as to why their coverage has changed in 2023!

So, who is going to win the 2023 Grand Prix of the Americas?

I am predicting Francesco Bagnaia to bounce back after losing the championship lead in Argentina, but I also think Maverick Viñales, who finished second at the Circuit of the Americas back in 2018 after starting from the very front of the grid, to shine this weekend, with the former to win the sprint, and the latter to claim the race victory (and subsequently take the mantle as the King of the Circuit of the Americas)!

2022 Valencian GP – Preview

The 2022 Malaysian Grand Prix was as tense as the 2022 Australian Grand Prix was thrilling, and although Francesco Bagnaia claimed his seventh race victory of 2022, the most race victories by a Ducati rider in a season since Casey Stoner back in 2007, with Fabio Quartararo finishing third at the Sepang International Circuit last time out, we are set for a title decider in the final race of a premier class season for the first time since 2017!

And, just like in 2017, the title-deciding race will take place at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, about a 20 to 30 minute drive west of Valencia, with Bagnaia on the precipice of achieving a childhood dream and from becoming the 29th rider to win the 500cc/MotoGP World Championship, while Quartararo needing a miracle if he is to clinch his second premier class world championship at the 2022 Valencian Grand Prix, the 20th and final round of the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

Bagnaia (258 points) leads the championship for the Ducati Lenovo Team by 23 points over Quartararo (235 points) from Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP heading into the final race of what has been a gripping season!

Bagnaia trailed the reigning world champion by 91 points after crashing out of the 2022 German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, the halfway mark of the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship, and we were all thinking that his hopes of winning the world championship were all but over!

However, with eight podiums, five of those race victories in the nine races since the fourth of his five race retirements in 2022 at the German Grand Prix, Bagnaia needs just two points in the final round of the year to become the 2022 MotoGP World Champion, and become Ducati’s second MotoGP World Champion, and their first since Casey Stoner back in 2007!

Meanwhile, the challenge for Quartararo to defend his title has grown ever more difficult ever since the notional halfway mark of the season, where at that point in time, he looked like he was going to dominate the world championship like what Marc Márquez did during in the first 10 races of 2014, but instead it has been an uphill climb similar to what someone might imagine it would be like to climb Mount Everest, dealing with a struggling bike and an ever-growing army of ‘Bologna Bullets’ have left his chances of becoming the 17th rider to win two or more 500cc/MotoGP World Championships, the 13th rider to win consecutive premier class world championships, and from joining Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo, and Marc Márquez as the only riders to win two or more premier class world championships in the MotoGP era, hanging by a single thread!

And, if Quartararo is to somehow defend his world championship, he will need to do something that he hasn’t done since the 2022 German Grand Prix back in June, and has only done three times in 2022, and that is to win, and then hope Bagnaia crashes out or has an absolute shocker at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo!

So, Bagnaia can become the 2022 MotoGP World Champion at the 2022 Valencian Grand Prix:

1. If Quartararo wins the race, Bagnaia must finish 14th or higher.

2. If Quartararo finishes second or lower.

Meanwhile, Quartararo can become a two-time MotoGP World Champion at the 2022 Valencian Grand Prix if:

1. Quartararo wins the race, and Bagnaia finishes 15th or lower.

Behind the two championship contenders in the standings, Aleix Espargaró (212 points) for Aprilia Racing is still a mathematical chance of finishing second in the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship after his chances of winning a first MotoGP World Championship came to an end after finishing in a lowly 10th at the 2022 Malaysian Grand Prix, while Enea Bastianini (211 points) is also in a similar boat ahead of his final race with Gresini Racing MotoGP before his move to the Ducati Lenovo Team in 2023 despite finishing second in a tension-filled race at the Sepang International Circuit!

Jack Miller (189 points) is fifth in the standings, and still a mathematical chance of finishing third in the championship ahead of his final race with the Ducati Lenovo Team before his move to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in 2023 after fighting his way back to finish sixth in Malaysia after a difficult qualifying session, and an even more difficult race, and will be looking to end his time with Ducati on a high, and help his teammate Bagnaia secure his first MotoGP World Championship!

Brad Binder (168 points) is sixth in the championship for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, two points ahead of Pramac Racing rider Johann Zarco (166 points) after the former finished eighth and the latter finished ninth in the Malaysian Grand Prix, while Álex Rins (148 points) is eighth in the world championship ahead of the final race for Team Suzuki Ecstar in MotoGP, at least for now, and ahead of Rins’ move to LCR Honda in 2023 after backing up his win at the 2022 Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island with a fifth-place finish at the Sepang International Circuit last time out!

Miguel Oliveira (138 points) ahead of his final race with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing before joining RNF Aprilia MotoGP Team in 2023, and Jorge Martín (136 points) for Pramac Racing complete the Top 10 in the standings after Oliveira finished 13th in Malaysia, while Martín crashed out of the lead of the Malaysian Grand Prix after starting on pole position for the second week in a row with another qualifying lap record!

Meanwhile, my observations on Marc Márquez (113 points) and the Repsol Honda Team after the Australian Grand Prix proved to be correct in Malaysia, delivering a couple of near-miracle laps, one to get him into the second part of the qualifying, the other to secure a spot on the front row of the grid, but the bike, as expected, let Márquez down as he slid down the field to finish seventh, but I would expect Márquez to be in a better position to challenge for the race victory in Valencia!

So, who is going to win the 2022 Valencian Grand Prix, and who is going to win the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship?

It is set to be glorious weather conditions at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia this weekend, with fine and sunny conditions with a top of 23 to 25 degrees Celsius across all three days, perfect conditions you would sense for the celebration of a first MotoGP World Championship for Francesco Bagnaia, right?!

Well, I think Bagnaia will become Ducati’s second-ever premier class world champion, but he will have to overcome some drama to achieve his childhood dream!

I think there will be some kind of drama on the opening couple of laps for Bagnaia, not race-ending, that he will need to fight back from!

However, I think his departing teammate Jack Miller will produce a performance not-too dissimilar to what he produced to win the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix at the Mobility Resort Motegi to win the 2022 Valencian Grand Prix, denying Fabio Quartararo his second premier class world championship, with Quartararo finishing second, and Marc Márquez finishing third, with Bagnaia doing just enough to become the 2022 MotoGP World Champion, and Ducati’s second MotoGP World Champion, and their first since Casey Stoner back in 2007, even if Quartararo did win the 2022 Valencian Grand Prix!

2022 Malaysian GP (MotoGP) – Preview, plus 2022 Australian GP (MotoGP) – Review

Well, what can you say about the 2022 Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island?!

It was beyond extraordinary, and I am not sure if that description does justice to the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, with the second-closest Top 10 at the end of a MotoGP race in history!

Just 5.940 seconds separated first and 10th, and the Top Seven finishers in the 2022 Australian Grand Prix finished within a second of each other (or to be precise, 0.884 seconds) in a race that I prepared to say is the greatest 500cc/MotoGP race I have ever seen/watched, and will go down in history as perhaps the greatest 500cc/MotoGP race of all-time!

And, in the immediate aftermath and in the hours after the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, I had a number of different reactions, which I published on Twitter!

The first one was my immediate reaction after the 2022 Australian Grand Prix after Álex Rins delivered Suzuki and Team Suzuki Ecstar what could well be their final-ever race victory in MotoGP as they depart the sport at the end of the year, with Marc Márquez becoming the fourth rider in premier class history to achieve 100 podiums, joining his great rivals in Valentino Rossi (199), Jorge Lorenzo (114), and Dani Pedrosa (112) as the only riders to achieve this milestone, and moving into equal-fifth alongside Ángel Nieto (139) for most podium finishes across all classes, while Francesco Bagnaia with his third-place at Phillip Island has taken the championship lead after trailing Fabio Quartararo by 91 points after the 2022 German Grand Prix back in June!

The second one was on what I thought of the race about a couple of hours later after the conclusion of the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, where I still hadn’t recovered (and to be honest, I probably still haven’t), where I said “there is no @MotoGP race that comes to my mind that surpasses what we saw today! I don’t think anyone either at the track or watching on TV could disagree!”

The third one was in response to the disappointment expressed by Australian Jack Miller after he was taken out at Turn Four, which was incidentally re-named “Miller Corner” after Jack Miller, on Lap Nine by Álex Márquez, who will be serving a Long Lap Penalty this weekend at the Malaysian Grand Prix, and while I know that Miller was heartbroken (and probably still is) after having his hopes of victory, not only in the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, but also the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship, ended in that single moment!

I wrote this tweet (in response to Jack Miller’s tweet) not necessarily for Jack’s benefit, but if he gains benefit from it, I will be happy, but for the thousands of fans at Phillip Island, and the millions of fans watching from home all across the world (not just in Australia), that may have been only supporting Jack Miller, and were left disappointed (and subsequently lost their enjoyment of the race) by his early, unfortunate exit from his home race, and may have not realised how amazing the entire 2022 Australian Grand Prix was!

It takes a special skill to enjoy anything, but particularly a sporting event, without supporting someone (or as a neutral observer), a skill which is hard to learn, but a skill very few even consider learning, but it is a skill I have, and it allows me to appreciate how good/great something is, and allows my senses to interpret, accurately (I believe), the significance of what has just happened, in regards to history!

I think I enjoy sport, see sport, differently compared to most other people, and this is personal to me, but I think sport and sports media, particularly in Australia (where I am from), needs to embrace the way I love sport, and I think the more people who embrace the way I love sport, the better sport and sports media will be!

The fourth one was my reaction to a stat from @MotoGP on Twitter, a stat which is unprecedented in the premier class, and confirms that the 2022 Australian Grand Prix will in my mind go down in history “as arguably the greatest race in @MotoGP history!”

And, in addition to all of this, the television ratings in Australia were extraordinary, with Fox Sports and Foxtel recording huge ratings, with their total audience of 185,000 across linear and streaming platforms making the 2022 Australian Grand Prix the most-watched 500cc/MotoGP race in history on subscription television in Australia, and I would like to say a huge Congratulations to the whole Fox Sports MotoGP team, including Jessica Yates, Chris Vermeulen, Isabella Leembruggen, Kevin Magee, and Damian Cudlin “on a fantastic broadcast, an incredible ratings result, fitting for a race that in my view was arguably the greatest @MotoGP race of all-time!”

The only problem I had with the broadcast was with their coverage on the Saturday, which I have contacted the person who it involved (and I don’t think it was their fault), and at the time of publication, I am still awaiting their response, but I won’t be commenting or voicing my opinion publicly about my gripe with their coverage on the Saturday because I suspect it is a very sensitive issue that doesn’t need public exposure or attention!

And, on October 19 (Wednesday) in a series of tweets (thread), I also reiterated my praise for not only the race itself, as well as the Fox Sports MotoGP team, but I also praised the MotoGP World Feed Commentary team of Matthew Birt, Louis Suddaby, and Simon Crafar for their call of the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, and “It will be a race that will stick in my memory forever!”

However, as we move on from an epic race that will stand the test of time, and with Francesco Bagnaia finishing third at Phillip Island, and Fabio Quartararo crashing out on Lap 11 at the Southern Loop, Bagnaia will have the opportunity to achieve a childhood dream at the Sepang International Circuit, which is about a one hour drive south of the Malaysian capital in Kuala Lumpur, and become the 29th rider to win the 500cc/MotoGP World Championship at the 2022 Malaysian Grand Prix, the 19th and penultimate round of the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

Bagnaia (233 points) has taken the lead of the championship at the most crucial of times for the Ducati Lenovo Team by 14 points over Quartararo (219 points) for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP after overhauling a 91-point deficit in the last eight races, with Aleix Espargaró (206 points) for Aprilia Racing, despite finishing ninth in Australia, and Enea Bastianini (191 points) for Gresini Racing MotoGP, who finished fifth after being in 20th after the opening three laps at Phillip Island, still in world championship contention!

So, Bagnaia can become Ducati’s second MotoGP World Champion, and their first since Casey Stoner back in 2007 this weekend at the 2022 Malaysian Grand Prix if:

1. Bagnaia wins the race, and Quartararo finishes fourth or lower.

2. Bagnaia finishes second, Quartararo finishes seventh or lower, and Espargaró doesn’t win the race.

3. Bagnaia finishes third, Quartararo finishes 11th or lower, and Espargaró doesn’t finish second or higher.

4. Bagnaia finishes fourth, Quartararo finishes 14th or lower, and Espargaró doesn’t finish third or higher.

5. Bagnaia finishes fifth, Quartararo finishes 16th or lower, and Espargaró doesn’t finish fourth or higher.

Jack Miller (179 points) is fifth for the Ducati Lenovo Team after being taken out by Álex Márquez at his own corner, while Brad Binder (160 points) for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, and Johann Zarco (159 points) for Pramac Racing are separated by just a point in the battle for sixth after Binder finished 10th, and Zarco finished eighth at Phillip Island!

Álex Rins (137 points) for Team Suzuki Ecstar has jumped inside the Top 10, and into eighth in the standings after a famous and special win at the Australian Grand Prix from 10th on the grid (and after being 11th after the opening three laps), with Jorge Martín (136 points) for Pramac Racing, and Miguel Oliveira (135 points) for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing completing the Top 10 in the world championship after finishing seventh and 12th respectively at Phillip Island, with the former starting on pole position!

And, Marc Márquez (104 points) for the Repsol Honda Team produced his best performance in what has been another injury-disrupted year, grabbing his first podium finish of 2022, finishing second in the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, and Márquez was the only rider in the field whose slowest lap time during the race was within a second of his quickest lap time, showing that not only that he is back to his absolute best, but also his masterful ability in managing the soft rear tyre, which was expected to degrade quicker that either the medium or hard rear tyres!

However, it also showed that the Honda is still far from the best bike on the grid, and that plenty of work still needs to be done in order for the Honda to be the class of the field again in MotoGP!

So, who is going to win the 2022 Malaysian Grand Prix?

On paper (and on current form), it should be a day of celebrations for Francesco Bagnaia and for Ducati at the Sepang International Circuit!

However, I get this strong feeling at the moment that there is going to be another twist in the tale of the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship, and that on an emotional day for both Gresini Racing MotoGP and MotoGP, 11 years to the day since we lost Marco Simoncelli at the Sepang International Circuit back in 2011, Enea Bastianini will win the Malaysian Grand Prix, and with the results of others, will keep himself in the world championship battle heading into Valencia … just!

2022 Thailand GP (MotoGP) – Preview

Jack Miller was in a race (and a class) of his own, producing the greatest performance in a dry race in his career to claim the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, the fourth premier class race victory of his career on a sun shining day, while the land of the rising sun didn’t look too fondly on championship contenders Fabio Quartararo, Francesco Bagnaia, Aleix Espargaró, and Enea Bastianini, who all struggled (for various reasons) to make an impact at the Mobility Resort Motegi!

And, as the grid moves onto the final leg of the triple-header, and to the Chang International Circuit (also known as the Buriram International Circuit), which is about 400 kilometres east-northeast of the capital Bangkok, and with Quartararo somehow managing to extend his championship lead against all reasonable expectations heading into Japan, can Bagnaia, Espargaró, and Bastianini respond after their struggles in the land of the rising sun, and put in a performance to re-establish their own title credentials this weekend at the 2022 Thailand Grand Prix, Round 17 of the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

Quartararo (219 points) extended his championship lead for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP to 18 points despite finishing eighth in Motegi after struggling to make inroads from ninth on the grid on a track tailor-made for rivals Ducati, but his main championship rival, Bagnaia (201 points) for the Ducati Lenovo Team, had a Barry Crocker, an absolute shocker, in Japan, crashing out of ninth on the final lap (and almost taking out Quartararo) after starting 12th in a race that everyone expected Bagnaia to gain points on Quartararo and perhaps take the lead of the world championship, but instead he fell a further eight points behind the reigning world champion after his fifth retirement of the year, and with four races remaining in the season, you just wonder if the events of Japan will eventually cost him the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

Espargaró (194 points) for Aprilia Racing also had struggles of his own, but of a mechanical nature after being unable to start from sixth on the grid after his bike was locked on a ‘Eco’ fuel-saving map, a mode which is only used when heading to the grid for the start of the race, and the mode, which can only be changed manually by mechanics, wasn’t changed on the grid, restricting him to below 5,000 revolutions per minute (RPM), and only to a top speed of 100 kilometres per hour, a problem Espargaró discovered on the warm-up lap, and with his frustrations clear for all to see, pitted to his second bike before the start of the race, starting from pit-lane, but from there, that was all she wrote for Espargaró, coming home in 16th to score no points for the first time in 2022, and he is now 25 points behind championship leader Quartararo in the standings!

Bastianini (170 points) for Gresini Racing MotoGP also struggled at the Japanese Grand Prix, coming home to finish in ninth after starting from 15th on the grid after failing to make it through to the second qualifying session, and is now 49 points behind Quartararo in the standings!

Miller (159 points) is fifth in the championship for the Ducati Lenovo Team after a performance that was nothing short of amazing! However, given the ominous speed he showed in that extended Friday practice session in dry conditions, it was a surprise to absolutely nobody that he went onto claim just his fourth premier class race victory, a level of performance that Miller had within him, but never had the machine underneath him, generically-speaking, to deliver on his potential until the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, and he didn’t disappoint!

In my opinion, it was his greatest performance in a dry race in his MotoGP career, and alongside his first MotoGP race victory (2016 Dutch TT) as the greatest performance of his MotoGP career!

If Miller can deliver consistently with the speed that he showed at the Mobility Resort Motegi in the final four races of 2022 (and of his time at Ducati), he will have a say as to who will win the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

Brad Binder (148 points) moves up into sixth in the standings for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing after picking up his second podium finish of 2022, passing Jorge Martín on the final lap to finish in second, while Johann Zarco (138 points) dropped to seventh in the championship after falling quickly through the field from second on the grid before fighting back to finish 11th in a disappointing performance for Pramac Racing!

However, Martín (120 points) jumped to eighth in the standings for Pramac Racing after finishing third despite being passed by Binder on the final lap, while Maverick Viñales (113 points) moved up into ninth for Aprilia Racing after finishing seventh in Motegi, but Álex Rins (108 points) dropped to 10th for Team Suzuki Ecstar after retiring just over midway through the Japanese Grand Prix with a wheel rim issue, and with Joan Mir’s injury replacement Takuya Tsuda retiring about three laps earlier after a spectacular blown engine, capped off a shocking day for Suzuki in their final-ever Japanese Grand Prix!

Meanwhile, Marc Márquez (73 points) for the Repsol Honda Team put in a strong performance in his second race on his return from his fourth operation on his right humerus, finishing fourth after dominating qualifying in wet conditions to claim his first pole position since the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix, the 63rd pole position of his premier class career, and while I am not sure whether he can challenge for a race victory this weekend, I believe that he will be challenging for a race victory at some point in the final four races, most likely at either Phillip Island in Australia, or in Valencia in Spain!

So, who is going to win the 2022 Thailand Grand Prix?

I am expecting a huge bounce back from Francesco Bagnaia this weekend, and with the help of his teammate Jack Miller, will return to winning ways this weekend, and will close the gap to Fabio Quartararo significantly in the battle for the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

2022 Japanese GP (MotoGP) – Preview

Enea Bastianini produced a sensational performance to end Francesco Bagnaia winning run, passing his fellow Italian on the final lap at Turn Seven to win the 2022 Aragon Grand Prix by 0.042 seconds, his fourth premier class race victory, becoming the first rider since Sete Gibernau back in 2004 to claim four race victories in a season with a satellite team (also with Gresini Racing MotoGP), and keeping his championship aspirations alive as Fabio Quartararo’s hopes of winning his second world championship took a big hit, both figuratively and literally, crashing into the back of the returning Marc Márquez between Turn Three and Turn Four and subsequently crashing out, before Takaaki Nakagami crashed out at Turn Eight after bumping into Márquez and his wounded Honda, which subsequently forced the six-time world champion out of the race, at MotorLand Aragón in one of the most dramatic opening laps you will ever see!

And, as the grid heads from Spain to Japan, and to the Mobility Resort Motegi (originally known as the Twin Ring Motegi), which is about a two and a half hour drive (150 kilometres) north-northeast of the capital of Tokyo for the first time since 2019, and as Typhoon Nanmadol threatens the race and the race weekend, Can Quartararo maintain his now slim championship lead? Or, will Bagnaia take the lead of the world championship at the place where Casey Stoner clinched Ducati’s first-ever riders’ championship back in 2007?

We will find out the answer to these questions (and many more) in a championship battle that you cannot take your eyes off at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, Round 16 of the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

Quartararo (211 points) lead in the championship for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP has shrunk to just 10 points following the events of Aragon, and given the continual rise of Ducati right now, despite still having a 10-point advantage with five races remaining, if Quartararo does go onto win his second world championship in 2022, it will go down as arguably the greatest world championship success in the history of grand prix motorcycle racing!

Bagnaia (201 points) has consolidated second in the standings for the Ducati Lenovo Team despite having his four race winning streak ended by his future teammate in Bastianini, finishing second in the Aragon Grand Prix, but with seven podiums (either first or second) in the last 10 races, he is still riding on the crest of a wave, and as I said in my preview for the Aragon Grand Prix, Bagnaia is the favourite right now to win the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship!

However, Aleix Espargaró (194 points) for Aprilia Racing will still believe he is still a chance of winning his first world championship in 2022 after claiming his sixth podium finish for the year, but his first since the Italian Grand Prix back in May after finishing third at MotorLand Aragón, but I still feel like he is more of an outside chance given the form of those Bologna Bullets!

And talking about Bologna Bullets, Bastianini (163 points) has moved himself back into championship contention for Gresini Racing MotoGP following his victory at MotorLand Aragón, and is now 48 points behind a somewhat faltering Quartararo, and 38 points behind his future Ducati Lenovo Team teammate Bagnaia with five races remaining!

However, you feel like he will need to win every remaining race in 2022, and hope Quartararo, Bagnaia, and Espargaró all fall away for Bastianini to win the world championship!

Behind the Top Four in the standings, Jack Miller (134 points) moves into fifth for the Ducati Lenovo Team after finishing fifth at Aragon, and will be the key support for Bagnaia in the Italian’s quest to win the championship, while Johann Zarco (133 points) drops to sixth for Pramac Racing after finishing eighth last weekend, and remains five points ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Brad Binder (128 points), who produced his best result since the opening race of the year in Qatar, finishing fourth at the Aragon Grand Prix!

Álex Rins (108 points) is eighth in the standings for Team Suzuki Ecstar after finishing ninth at MotorLand Aragón, while both Jorge Martín (104 points) for Pramac Racing and Maverick Viñales (104 points) for Aprilia Racing complete the Top 10 in the championship after finish sixth and 13th respectively last weekend!

And, the return of Marc Márquez for the Repsol Honda Team came to an end on Lap One following the events of the opening lap after a blistering start moved him from 13th on the grid to sixth by the time he exited Turn One, and would have thought that a podium finish was on in his return from injury, but the way he responded to the disappointment of his early retirement sums up the character of this man, the ambassador and the legend that he is!

And, hopefully he gets back to his absolute best very soon, and is able to challenge consistently for race victories and championships in the not-too distant future!

So, who is going to win the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix?

Most likely a Ducati on a circuit tailor-made for those Bologna Bullets, and I believe by the end of the weekend, Francesco Bagnaia will be leading the 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship, and will do so after winning the Japanese Grand Prix at the Mobility Resort Motegi!

However, if a non-Ducati rider wins the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, it will potentially go down as arguably the greatest performance of their career!

Never Say Never In MotoGP!